A Solar System Away

Prologue

The sound of molten metal being fired at a three thousand feet per second echoed through the valley. The shot wasn't a very good one but it hit its mark. Up the one hundred and eighty foot cliff the shot went until it blasted through the side of a Bull Nithon. The Nithon is a large beast, similar to an Elk in size and form but there are many differences between the two species. First off, a Nithon is hairless with olive green skin and a rose pink underbelly. Secondly, instead of a set of antlers the Nithon has three rows of spikes about four centimeters in length that lines the animal's neck. Nithons are solitary animals, so I think, at least for the six years I've lived on this planet I've never seen two come within a kilometer of each other.

I sling the rifle, which I call the Glob Thrower because I kind of designed it myself, behind my back and begin the five kilometer hike to the carcass. To be honest I've never climbed to the top of this cliff, I'm making up the route as I go. As I hike I look around, not even a kilometer into the hike and I've already identified two new species of plants that I've never seen before. As the elevation rises even in the slightest the plants begin to rapidly change. I rapidly document a few of my findings and ignore the rest. I can't daddle too much, I have no idea if I was the only predator hunting that Nithon. Even though I'm in a hurry I still take some time to take in my new surroundings. A kind of tree that I previously thought only grew in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet is proving plentiful at this altitude. I guess I can't really call it a tree though. The only thing about it that is similar about it to trees is that it grows straight up and because I have no idea where else it could come from I think it produces oxygen in a similar fashion to trees. Other wise the "tree" has no branches but bristles the size of a human arm plague its surface. The "tree" is also bright red and around once a year some of the larger bristles compact into large spheres and eventually detach from the plant and roll away. I believe those spheres are the plants way of reproducing but it seems to take a long time because I've never seen one sprout. I attempted to eat one a couple years ago when the food supply was a little low but the nut proved tougher than the very knife or shard of metal I used to break it open. The knife broke in half.

An hour later I finally reach the top of the cliff. Thankfully the Nithon is still there. I stay wary of the spikes and grab the Nithon by the head and bring its head closer to mine so I can see it more clearly. If the Nithon was alive its slits for eyes would glow a pale white but after death they remain dark. I don't enjoy killing the animals here. I would much rather study them but I must provide for my family. I gently place the animal's skull back on the ground and finally look at the amazing view. To the south I can see a small clearing with soft pink grass. In the center of the clearing there is a shack that my family and I call home. If there was a direct path the trip would only take an hour or two but with the cliff it takes an extra three hours. I'm already dreading the drip down with the carcass.

I turn around and look off the other side of the small mountain. On the other side their is another slope but not as steep this time around. At the bottom of the mountain for as far as the eye can see there is only a thick forest of red, orange and specks of purple here and there. Then something catches my eye. I can make out a small reflection of the sun in the distance. I take the rifle off my back and look through its scope to see if I can make out more. The scope on the rifle is very powerful, it used to be the scope of a sniper rifle I owned back when I was in the military. Too bad the gun broke in the crash, it probably would've come in handy on more than a few occasions. The scope begins to focus on the reflection. I gasp in surprise by what I see. A military Freighter has landed in a large clearing about forty kilometers away. I can also make out two Skip Ships preparing for travel below the Freighter. Almost immediately the two ships take off in my direction. I watch the Skip Ships as they draw nearer within ten minutes I can make out the insignias painted on their roofs and sides. Scavers! The organization was originally a mining company but after a dispute with another company over a asteroid belt ended in a firefight the business has never been the same. Soon after the asteroid wars everything spiralled into chaos. Before then space had never seen bloodshed. The idea of war in space had of course been an option when competition for hospitable planets began. Soon after the first shots were fired in the asteroid wars tension was very high between colonies. Almost overnight colonies split from their founding nations and created their own empires. Colonies became empires, once respectable companies became Bandits, Scavers, Raiders, Slavers and factions. No matter what they call themselves most of them all are criminals. But part about all of it is, I worked for the Scavers for four years.